Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has a track record of taunting blindfolded detainees. In the past, he has been accompanied by camera crews as he toured Israeli prisons holding Palestinian detainees.This week, Ben-Gvir was seen on camera gloating over a group of largely foreign activists who were forced to kneel on the floor with their arms bound after Israeli forces detained their flotilla in international waters. This was part of an attempt by activists from across the world to break the siege of Gaza and deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid.The footage – combined with reports that at least 15 activists had been subjected to sexual assault during detention – triggered the most significant international diplomatic backlash against Israel in recent weeks.France banned Ben-Gvir from entering its territory, while more than a dozen governments, including Italy, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Germany and South Korea, summoned Israeli ambassadors or issued formal condemnations after the brutal detention of their citizens.Even US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said Ben-Gvir had “betrayed the dignity of his nation”, a rare rebuke of an Israeli minister by an American official.By Sunday, President Isaac Herzog, who occupies a largely ceremonial role, felt compelled to respond to the crisis publicly, condemning settler violence as “brutishness” that “threatens us all”, and saying it must be “forbidden to abuse prisoners”. Ben-Gvir responded in a social media post by calling for Herzog’s removal from office. Advertisement Khan al-Ahmar demolition orders and ‘creeping annexation’ legislationWhile the flotilla scandal dominated international headlines, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the advancement of the long-t …
